Doorcheck



Dec. 29 i925.

A 1,567,093 L. D. WEST DOORCHECK Filed Feb. 16, 1923 2 sheets-sheet 1 lf! if De'c.' 29 1925. 1,567,093

L. D. WEST DOORCHEGK Filed Feb. 16, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 @man PATENT LENDAS D. AWEST, 0F DENVER, COLORADO.

DUUR/CHECK.

Application filed February 16. 1923.

To all ycf/'50m t may concern.'

Be it lnown that l, linonrnns D. llVnsr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Denver, the city and eounti7 of Denver, and State oi? Colorado, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Boon checks; and l do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ol' the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to mal-:e and use the saine, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters or reference marked thereon, which form a part or' this speciiicatien.

This invention relates to door checks of the type which has the operating mechanism located beneath the floor.

l am aware that several different types ott door checks, adapted to be concealed in the tioor, have been made and sold, but none ot.' them have gone into general use, mving to various features or construction which make them objectionable.

lt is the object oi this invention to produce a d oor check oi' the type re'terred to that shall have several distinct advantages over the priorl art it is known to me.

One object of this invention is to the production oi? a door check of the type referred to that can be applied to any existing door pivotally mounted on ordinary hinges and thus obviate the necessity of relianging old doors on different kinds of hinges, as well the necessity ot providing special hinges ilfor new doors.

lt is another object o't the invention to produce a door check tl'iat can he locatedA to the si ,e ot the door and in the itloor as disA tinguished 'iroin those which must be located directly underneath the door. ll-y this pro.- vision the mechanism can be reached at any time without maintaining thc door in open position.

ii further object oi1 this invention is to provide an arrangement and combination ot parts that can be assembled and disassembled and in which the parts can be madereadily accessible tor the purpose of eiilecting repairs.

@ther and different objects will appear as the description proceeds.

ln order to more fully describe my invention, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view showing the lower portion of a door and a door-trame,

Serial No. 619,460.

together with a portion of' the ioor parts or' the floor, as well as'part of the casing enclosing the mechanism being broken away7 to s how the mechanism of the door check.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the spring casing.

Fig. 8 is a section taken on line 3-3 Fig. l.

Fig. 4: is a section taken on line 4 4-, Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation ot the dash-pot with a portion thereof broken away to show the piston rod, piston and lay-pass.

l? 6 is a view similar to that of Fig. l,y but showing a modification. Y

. Fig. 7 is a plan view looking down on the parts shown in Fig. G, a part oit the casing being broken a-wayto better show the construction; and y Fig. 8 is a view showing' a slightly modi-- lied form oi? connecting` means.

The same reference characters (will he used to designate the same parts througlr out the several views.

Numeral l designates an ordinary door which is pivotally mounted in a door-traine 2 by means oi hinges 3. Located in an opening in the floor on the side ot vthe door to which the latter swings is a metal casing l which is made in the form of rectangular boX having no bottom. An opening 5 is provided in the upper side o the boi; and provided with ianges 6 which are adapted to support a cover (not shown).

Secured to the right hand end oi: the box f1; (Fig. l) is a spring casing' 'l' which is cylindrical in shape and provided at one side with a brachet 8 having at its end a. tiroide il which can be bolted to the end olf the hhx 4t. The casing 7 has a bottom member l() provided centrally thereof with an opening for the reception oit a shaft ll to whose lower end is non-rotatably secured a crank l2. rlhe casing 7 has a slot 13 in its side for the reception o1e one end ot a spiral spring` ld. The outer end of spring lit has 2 yparallel cuts which form three fingers l5, lo and l?. twov ot which are bent in one Vdirection and one in the other direction.

circular central portion l) ot the shaft ll.

As the spring;` is Wound the coils tend to contract and keep the end from slipping oli' the holt. A cover 2O is threzidedh7 or other- Wise secured to the casing 7 in the manner shown in Fig. 4f. This cover hase central openingwhich torres e hearing for the `ripper end of the shaft ll. Shaft l1 is provided near its upper end with a iange 2l which projects through a suitable opening; in the top oi loot; Above the flange 2l the shaft fil hes a portion Q2 ot reduced dian'ieter. This portion has en ariel opening ot sqnerr or other noi -eirenler shape, which is creep-red to recei Je the ene oit ai correspondingly shaped wrench. Flange 2i hns er inunher oit holes 2st, the pn 'pose ol which will heroine-tte1 appear. Ei lever 25 is provided et, one end with :i hole adopted to receive the cicnlar portion o't the surtt. it screw 2G extends through the and into one oi the holes i3d ond serves is e. naeznis tor eljnstino' the relative positions ot the shaft and lever. The lever Oli hns an elbow and has secured to the upper side thereot1 :nid neer the enter end e roller 28 which cooperates with ai eliannelnshnper guide Q9 in the nienner shown in Figs. l. end The guide 29 is secured to the hottoin ot the door and consequently When the door opens or closes the lever is moved and rotates the shaft ll and crank 12. rlhe spring' isa ot' course7 attached to the easing;` and the shaft in such n manner that it will resist the opening,` of the door. n order to prodnce e retardinp; eetion iter controlling the closing' ot the door, hinge a dreh-pot (Z to the left hond end ot box el l). rlhe deslrpot is ot more or less conventional construction having a cylinder; a reniovohle cylinder head 3l; e piston 32 provided 'with e. check valve 33 which permits liquid to flow freni the right hand end 01"' the cylinder to the lett hand end 5), but not in the reverse direction. jt hjJ-pnss eitends 'lroin one end ot' the cylinder to the other :i nd hns intermediate 'thereof n valve 35, by ineens or" Ywhich the cupe. fit); ot the link-poss cnn he controlledin It pine' 2G permitsrthe (fj/flieder to he filled vwith e non-conpeolzrhle lnhrieating' lnid such es n Inifrtnre ot alcohol., glycerine und water. fr piston roe o; extends troni me piston through the pochino' 38 rind hes its end pivotallv conn ycted to the end ot crank l2 by ineens of o holt 39. rlhe parts nre :adjusted in sneh a. manner that when the doo:l is closed the piston oconpies s. position neer the lett hond end otl the cylinder (Fig. 5) und the crank a1-1n l2 is or" such length that When lthe door is opened 180 degrees, the piston has heen moved to zr position neer the rie-ht hand end of the cylinder. It is evident the if We assume the parte as oocnpyino the position shown in Figs. l and 5 and then open the door,`the action between the guide 2f) :ind the roller Q9 on the ood ot the lever fifi Witt cerise the letter action is retarded hv the dash-pot En :i ninnner perfectly apparent. 'lfhe tension ot the s; 'ing een he udpisted hv applying :i snit n ,le Wrench to the socket "l2-3. removing the scre'iv 2li und either disconneclingl the crzinlr erin l2 troni the piston rod or l'roin the shzi't't. when the spring` hns heen properl)Y tensioned7 the sci-enY Q inserted into the openings und the crank l2 properhf :1djnsted e nd secured to the shzit't. The derive cnn he nsed tor either right or lett hund doors ln: reversing ther springl :rnd relative angular position ot the levers '12 :ind A dilt'erent lever is nsnnlly employed lor e lett hond door than tor :i rinht hzind door`r although the lever Q5 on readily he so designed that it is reversible und cnn he used in vonneetion with either typo ot door.

Since the hox Llis located in the floor on one side of the door, it rendit' necese sihle. By removing;l serev,v Qt. the lcrer .25 een he removed troni shaft .l1 und the hox removed from its recess in the tloor. thus enabling repairs to he quickly :1nd convenientlj,T nitide.

In Figs. (l or d l her tion in whirl a. l. illere t employed. here s loir rernred to one side ot the door L i which performsy the seme 'function as tie snide 21') :ind cooperetes with n pin or roller t carried on the tree end oiE the lever 25h `which nniv he :in e-an't duplicate ot he rorrespondinfr lover in l'iiyg. 'Yilhe top ol li l' l is pcrtorzelerl lo provide :1 hib-wine l'or tlL whirl if: intopjlzil with the i 't livrer E'f is scrnred to the ond o l' 17 in eqnrtljv' tht` Home Heiner :is it is so. 'to sumtt ll.

pottl which i l with the one deserihed shove is ne lett hood end of Ythe non?. le 1"\. The piston is i otelly 11e creol: interniednite the ends thor so thet when the door opens :ind closer: the pieton will he censo-d to reciproczite in i it deshthe (Verlinden L,

shove espleined. instead ot the line` uns ingr i' and associated ports, prov e one or l niore heliczrl tension sin-inf i w E) 'wh rh here one enf-l secured to die pin c@ which projects d ,rnzirffll`\' 'from the end o iE 'the rrfinl The other ende et sprii enred to :in ndjngn ilo nre-wher Iii thm" enred to the end ot :i hzir of) mounted in holes in the lugs 53 which project downwardly from-the side ot box 4l. A. bolt 54 is threadedly connected to one of the lugs 5?; and engages an opening in the part 51. By means of the bolt 54 the tension in t-he spring can be increased or decreased at Will. 'I want to call particular attention to the fact that by the construction just explained; my door check can be made to hold the door open as well as closed. lVhen the door is opened sulfistantially 180 degrees; the pull of springs i9 will move to the other side of the center of the pivot 47 and will exert a torce tending to hold the door open. The springs 49 can be made ot any desired strength and one, two or more sprinojs can be used.

ln liig. 8 l have shown a guide rod 55 which can be substituted tor the guide Rod is supported at its ends by brackets 56. it bearing member 5T is slidable on the rod 55 and pivotally connected to the end ot lever 25.

From the above; it `will be apparent that I have produced a door check that can be readily attached to doors already hung and which does not require special hinges. My

door check can be mounted in the floor by merely sawing out a hole ot the proper size. The parts can be readily removed 'for repair or replacement and anyT repair can be done by anyone having the least familiarity with the use of tools.

Having now described my invention; what l claim as new is:

l. A. door closing and retarding device comprising a supporting member adapted to be secured in an openingl in the floor; said supporting member having an opening in its upper surface; a removable plate for closing said opening; a lever pivotally mounted near one end of the support and adapted to swing in a plane parallel to the upper surface thereof; a crank arm non-rotatably connected to said lever on the lower side olf said support; a dash-pot operatively connected between the support and the crank; said dash-pot being adapted to retard the movement ol the crank case and lever in one direction and permit tree movement in the other direction; a resilient spring means secured to the end ot said crank and adapted to move the lever against the retarding action of the dash-pot.

2. A door closing and retarding device comprising a supporting` member adapted to be secured in place in the Hoor near a. door; said support having an opening; ak plate removably secured to the opening; a crooked lever pivotally mounted in said support and adapted to swing in a plane parallel with the upper surface thereof; a crank arm non-rotatably secured to the'lever and located beneath the support; a dash-pot pivotally connected to the crank arm and to the support; resilient means comprising helical tension springs secured to the crank arm at one end and to an anchoring means at the other end; said means being adapted to cause the lever to move against the retarding action oit the dash-pot.

3. A door closing and retardingr device comprisinga plate-like supporting member adapted to be secured to the floor near a door; said supporting member having downwa-rdly projecting ianges; an opening in said member; a removable plate adapted to cover said opening; a crank arm pivotally mounted in said support near one end there of and adapted to swing in a plane parallel to the support; but below the same; a crooked lever adjustably secured to the crank arm and adapted to swing in a plane parallel to and above said support; a dash-pot secured to said support and to said crank arm and adapted to permit substantially tree more ment of the lever in one direction; but to retard the movement in the opposite direction a resilient spring means secured at one end to the end of the crank arm and at the other end to an adjustable anchor secured to the support; and means for moving said anchor whereby the tension of the springs can be adjusted.

4. A door closing and retarding device comprising a supporting member adapted to be secured in an opening in the 'loor; said opening being wholly in front ot the door when the latter is in the closed position; a removable plate for closing said opening; a lever pivotally mounted on the support and adapted to swing in a plane parallel to thc upper surface thereof; a crank arm non-rotatably connected to said lever at the lower side ot' the support; a dash pot operatively connected between the suppmft and the crank; said dash pot being adapted to retard the movement ot' the crank and lever in one direction and permit free n'iovement in the other direction; and spring means connected with said c lank and adapted to move the lever against the retarding action oit the dash pot.

In testimony whereof l affix my signature.

LEONIDAS l). WEST. 

